DSWD: Pacquiao to endorse CCT, anti-poverty programs

Published July 12, 2011 8:55am

After endorsing everything from food items to pain relievers and car batteries, can boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel â€œManny" Pacquiao work his magic to gain support for the governmentâ€™s poverty reduction programs â€“ including the controversial conditional cash transfer (CCT) program? Pacquiao has agreed to at least try his hand at endorsing the governmentâ€™s core poverty reduction programs, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said. The DSWD said it and Pacquiaoâ€™s office will soon forge an agreement for the partnership, the agency said in a news release on its website late Monday. Among the core anti-poverty programs Pacquiao is expected to endorse are:

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino (CCT) program;

Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS); and

Sustainable Livelihood. The CCT has gained controversy after critics of the administration branded it a dole-out program. But DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said on government-run TV last week that the CCT is not a dole-out as each beneficiary has corresponding obligations such as attending to pre-natal seminars, complete attendance of their children in school and seeking job opportunities or having small livelihood business. According to the DSWD, Pacquiao held a consultative meeting with various government agenciesâ€™ regional directors. During the meeting, DSWD Field Office 12 head Gemma Rivera cited Pacquiaoâ€™s "influential role in transforming the lives and the hope that he radiates to poor families." She added Pacquiao is a symbol of how the Filipino struggles to rise above poverty. Pacquiao, a symbol of unity for Filipinos, had repeatedly expressed his desire to help poor Filipinos. He said this prompted him to run for congressman â€“ unsuccessfully at first in 2007, then successfully in 2010. â€” RSJ, GMA News

Tags: conditionalcashtransfer, cctprogram, mannypacquiao, dswd